UNDERCOVER poop snoops are set to stalk dog foulers and litter louts who blight streets and parks across Denbighshire.

New plain-clothed wardens have been given powers to respond to complaints and target persistent offenders.

Those who flick cigarette butts, drop rubbish or don’t clean up after their pets will be coming under the watchful eye of the county’s CCTV system – before being hit in the pocket.

The council describes the move as the “latest offensive in the battle against the most complained about environment crimes” and said they may even use anti-terror laws under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act that provides surveillance powers to prevent crime.

Two new covert enforcement officers – whose roles are designed solely for the task – will be dishing out more fixed penalty notices as the authority admits their number of fines are “below target.”

A performance report set to go before Denbighshire’s Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee tomorrow, reveals 72 fixed penalties were handed out for environmental crime last year – 27 of those were given out in the fourth quarter alone.

Officers estimate there is one-and-a-half tonnes of dog mess left polluting streets and parks every year.

The wardens, who are able to decide whether they want to wear a uniform or go undercover, will travel to any location in the county to clamp down on offenders in a bid to reassure the public that problems are being attended to quickly.

They will also educate and advise residents as part of the new awareness scheme and keep people informed about how the crackdown is progressing.

Roly Schwarz from the Community Safety Partnership said the officers have been employed to investigate environmental crimes under a six-month pilot scheme, funded by the council as well as income generated from penalty tickets. The cash will then be poured back into more education and enforcement.

“People go outside a pub to smoke so that they avoid being fined £30 and yet they flick their stubs onto the floor at the risk of being given a £70 ticket,” he said.

“We need to make people more aware of their actions and the impact it has on their environment.

“If there is somewhere that is a particular problem, we would consider using powers under RIPA to monitor that area.

He added: “It is the first time we have ever created jobs specific to this purpose.

“we have a team of 50, including 30 police community support officers, able to give out tickets at the moment.

“But this will allow us to focus our efforts more and clamp down on serial offenders.

“We’re doing it because we’re listening to what the public are telling us.”

But the Denbighshire decision was branded akin to cracking a nut with a sledgehammer by civil rights campaigners last night.

Pressure group Liberty said Denbighshire council should put out more bins instead of dispatching “pseudo-cops” wearing plain clothes to follow members of the public.

The drastic move should only be used in the most serious criminal cases, said director of policy Isabella Sankey.

“Targeted surveillance is incredibly useful for tackling terrorism and serious crime,” she said.

“When it’s proposed for dog-fouling perhaps the council should think about putting out more bins instead of sending in their pseudo-cops.